Snapchat Tips & Guides
Short, tested guides to Snapchat: watching and saving public Stories, usernames and profiles, privacy, streaks and Spotlight.
Essential Snapchat tips
Lock down your account
- Set Contact Me to My Friends
- Turn off See Me in Quick Add
- Switch on two-factor login
- Use Ghost Mode on the Snap Map
Grow a public profile
- Post publicly, not only to friends
- Save your best Stories as Highlights
- Post Spotlight videos you filmed yourself
- Check Insights to see where viewers drop off
Keep streaks and Score
- Snaps count, chats don’t
- Snap at the same time every day
- Act on the ⌛ before the day runs out
- Score updates can lag by hours
All guides
Privacy & safetyDid Someone Block You on Snapchat or Just Remove You?Blocked, removed or deleted all look similar at first. Four quick tests tell them apart. · 1 min read
Privacy & safetyDoes Snapchat Notify When You Screen Record?Screen recording a Snap, Story or chat is reported just like a screenshot. Public Stories you watch without logging in are the exception. · 1 min read
Privacy & safetyDoes Snapchat Notify When You Screenshot a Story?Yes for Stories, Snaps and chats you open while logged in. No for public Stories you watch without an account. Here’s the full breakdown. · 2 min read
Privacy & safetyDoes Snapchat Notify When You Save a Chat?No push notification, but they can see it: a saved message turns grey for both of you. Here’s what each action shows. · 2 min read
Privacy & safetyWho Viewed My Snapchat Profile? What Snapchat Actually ShowsSnapchat never shows who visited your profile. It shows who watched your Story and, for public profiles, totals. Here’s exactly what you get. · 2 min read
Creating contentPortrait Mode on Snapchat: Blur Your Background on iPhone and AndroidSnapchat has no portrait button of its own. On iPhone the blur comes from iOS; on Android it comes from Lenses. Here’s how to use both. · 2 min read
Profiles & usernamesHow to Change Your Snapchat Username and Display NameYour display name can change whenever you like. Your username can change once a year. Here are the steps and the catches. · 1 min read
Viewing & downloadingHow to View Snapchat Stories Anonymously (Without an Account)You don’t need a Snapchat account to watch a public story. Here are three ways to do it, and the one limit none of them get around. · 3 min read
Profiles & usernamesSnapchat Public Profiles: What Anyone Can SeeSnapchat accounts start private. A Public Profile changes that for some things and not others. Here is exactly what becomes visible. · 2 min read
Profiles & usernamesHow to See Who Viewed Your Snapchat StoryYour viewer list shows friends by name, but not everyone. Here’s how to open it and why some views have no name attached. · 1 min read
Profiles & usernamesHow to Find a Snapchat Profile When You Only Know the UsernameOn Snapchat, the username is everything: links, Snapcodes and search all depend on it. Here’s how to find it and check it. · 1 min read
Streaks & ScoreSnapchat Score: What It Counts and Why It Isn’t UpdatingYour Snap Score goes up when you send and receive Snaps and post Stories. Chats don’t count. And it can lag for hours. · 1 min read
Privacy & safetyHow to Delete or Deactivate Your Snapchat AccountDeleting Snapchat starts a 30-day deactivation. Log in during that time and it’s cancelled. Save your Memories first. · 1 min read
Profiles & usernamesSnapchat Followers Count: How Subscriber Numbers WorkSnapchat never had a public follower count for normal accounts. Public profiles show subscribers instead. Here’s what that number means. · 1 min read
Viewing & downloadingHow to Download Snapchat Spotlight Videos (Phone and PC)Spotlight videos are public, so you can save them without the app. Copy the link, paste it, press download. Here are the details for each device. · 1 min read
Streaks & ScoreSnapchat Planets Order: What Each Planet MeansMercury means you’re their #1 best friend, Neptune #8. Here’s the full order and what decides your place. · 1 min read
Fixes & helpIs Snapchat Down or Is It Just You? How to Tell in 1 MinuteWhen Snapchat stops loading, the first question is whether it’s you or them. Here’s a one-minute check and the fixes that work most often. · 1 min read
Creating contentHow to Post on Snapchat Spotlight (and Get More Views)Spotlight is Snapchat’s public video feed. Posting takes 30 seconds; getting views takes a few habits. Here are both. · 1 min read
Creating contentHow to Make a Public Profile on SnapchatA Public Profile lets anyone subscribe to you and watch the Stories you choose to make public. Setting it up takes two minutes. · 1 min read
Streaks & ScoreHow Snapstreaks Work and How to Keep Them AliveA streak only survives if you both send a Snap every 24 hours. Chats don’t count. Here are the exact rules and how to stop losing them. · 2 min read
Privacy & safetySnapchat Privacy Settings: A 10-Minute ChecklistSeven settings decide who can reach you, see your Story and find your location. Here’s what each one does and what we’d pick. · 2 min read
Quick Snapchat tricks
- Find any username fast
- The username is the part after snapchat.com/add/ in a profile link. Paste the whole link into our search box; it strips the rest.
- Watch a public Story on your computer
- Snapchat’s website shows a small player. Our viewer plays it full screen with arrow keys: → next, ← back, space to pause.
- Save a Spotlight video
- Tap Share → Copy Link in the app, paste it here, and press Download MP4.
- Check if Snapchat is down
- Before clearing your cache, check our live status page. If everything is up, the problem is on your phone or network.
Try the Story Viewer
Type a username to watch their public Story, Highlights and Spotlight videos. No login.
Story DownloaderProfile ViewerSpotlight DownloaderVideo DownloaderUsername FinderFollowers Count